In ambulances and other emergency/rescue vehicles, removable, wheeled cots or stretchers are often provided for convenient and comfortable patient transportation from a remote accident site to the emergency vehicle. These cots or stretchers are often referred to as “roll-in” devices, and generally feature a plurality of wheels for inserting and removing the cot from the emergency vehicle, as well as an adjustable or multi-level fold down carriage supporting a set of wheels which enables the cot to be easily rolled along sidewalks, roads, or other access surfaces.
The mobile patient transportation cots or similar devices commonly include a structural frame, which is often tubular in nature, to provide lightweight support for the patient and the wheels, casters or other rolling mechanisms attached thereto. Once the patient is rolled to the emergency vehicle on the cot, the undercarriage may be collapsed and folded under the cot to facilitate insertion of the cot into the emergency vehicle. The cot is then rolled into the emergency vehicle and fastened into position for safe transportation.
A prior art cot fastening system 10 is illustrated by FIG. 1A. The cot fastening system comprising a front arresting device 20, and a separate rear fastening device or locking bar 30. The front arresting device 20 is used to secure the front wheels of the cot and the locking bar 30 is used to secure the cot frame. Such a cot fastening system has been widely used in the industry for a number of years. As shown in FIG. 1B, the front arresting device, often referred to generally as the “antlers,” includes a bracket with a pair of upwardly, extending hook-like members 40, which curve to the rear of the emergency vehicle 45 and are designed to receive and effectively hook onto portions of the forward support frame members 50 of the cot 60, as shown in FIG. 1B. This antler bracket 20 thereby limits forward movement of the cot within the emergency vehicle. The rear locking bar 30 is thereafter secured to the cot frame to secure the cot against further rolling movement within the emergency vehicle.
While such cot fastening systems have been widely and successfully used, there are a plurality of designs for cots and other wheeled devices utilized in various emergency vehicles and the like, and interchangeable use of prior cot fastening systems often required modification of the fastening system itself or its installation, or adjustments to the system. In particular, prior art fastening system all use different mounting assemblies which depends on the particulars of the cot in use.
For example, prior art antler brackets require alternate antler bracket mounting locations in the floor of the emergency vehicle for the various types of cots, such as for example, the Model 30 and 35 series Ferno brand cots. Often, this requires installation of an additional mounting plate in the floor of the emergency vehicle if desiring to interchange one cot with another. However, when multiple emergency vehicles containing various types of cot fastening systems respond to an emergency, delays in removing patients from the scene may result due to the lack of interoperability, as particular cot must be match up with particular fastening systems.
This problem is further acerbated by the fact that from a liability standpoint, some ambulance manufacturers must provide the floor cot mounting hardware (mount, locking bar, and antler bracket) that matches the cot being used (i.e., a Ferno brand cot must have Ferno brand floor hardware installed). Should an end user be considering a cot change or addition while at the same time ordering a new ambulance, the cot decision must be made before the mounts are installed in the new ambulance. Accordingly, a cot fastening system which accommodates a broader range of cot models and which automatically and dependably accepts and functions properly with those various models without modification or adjustment to the ambulance or cot fastening system to which the arresting device is a part thereof, is still a desire in the industry in order to reduce the number of issues regarding interoperability.